Observations!
More ledge revealed!

The river continues....

High
Low  34 F

DSC_0012
Last year, I planted bulbs in the Winter/Spring garden or GFSD.  This garden was planted for fall, winter, and spring interest because it is behind the new corn patch and, theoretically, it is hidden in the summer months.  I say theoretically because this spring, corn seed germination was so poor that the EM tilled it all in and the patch was home to pumpkins, squash, and extra tomato plants.  The river did indeed bloom this past spring.  As you can see from the above picture, I planted the daffodil 'Accent' which has a salmon colored trumpet.  These are beautiful but I found, that given the distance of this garden from the house, bright yellow would have been a better choice.  I also interplanted with tulips in this bed.  DSC_0005 If you are going to dig a trench to plant this many bulbs, it is wise to optimize that effort.  The tulips flowered just as the daffodils faded. Very satisfying!  This weekend, the EM said he would help with the digging.  Of course it involved the initial use of equipment.Dsc_0007 (2)   He has a harrow on his tractor which he ran along the edge of the bed to loosen the soil and then he hand dug the bed.  Gee, it was much easier his way.  Plus, he works about five times faster than I do.  DSC_0006 Here is the trench continued in the serpentine pattern.  Once the trench was completed, I added some organic fertilizer and some super phosphate and I sprayed the bulbs with neem in order to make the tulips less palatable to the critters and to also mask the scent of the organic fertilizer which smells like molasses which is an ingredient in the mix. DSC_0007 It was an impressive trench don't you think?   DSC_0012 I ordered bulbs from two sources this year, Brent and Becky's bulbs and Colorblends.  Brent and Becky's sent the bulbs within the week.  Nice beautiful bulbs and great service. The Colorblends order took a bit longer to arrive but I have to say that I have never seen daffodil bulbs as big as these.DSC_0010   A couple of them looked as large as an amaryllis bulb.  This year I chose a really big yellow daffodil, 'Gigantic Star' and planted one hundred of them in the trench along with Dsc_0004 (2) a blended tulip collection of one hundred bulbs called 'Orange twist'.DSC_0005 I also added  fifty tazetta daffodils called 'Martinette'  to the trench.  The tazettas are described as a 'bouquet on a stem'.  I was going to plant the tazettas in another area but the trench was dug and looked so inviting that I thought it would save me quite a bit of energy.  Bulb planting is hard work.  The tulip blend will be interesting as there is no way to tell how the bulbs will actually lie in the garden bed.  I could have all the oranges in one spot and the yellows on the other end.  Only time will tell. DSC_0014 This new trench actually completed the river of bulbs which is the length of this garden.  I know I will enjoy the daffodils for years to come but it remains a mystery as to how long the tulips will provide color.  I am hoping that they bloom for the next  five years or so but you know how it is, the gardener's optimism is sometimes greater than the reality of nature.   Are all your bulbs tucked into their bed for the winter?

Layanee

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